Gun control mantra doesn't match reality

Robert A. Miller of Annville, in his letter (May 21) "Get guns off the street," repeats the tired gun control mantra that the Second Amendment to the Constitution applies only to the National Guard, and that if we outlaw guns, we’ll all be much safer.

Gun control supporters insist that "the right of the people" means "the right of the state" to maintain the "militia" mentioned in the amendment and that this "militia" is the National Guard. That is inconsistent with the statements of America's early statesmen and the concept of individual rights as understood by generations of Americans.

The National Guard is the third component of the Army. The framers' independent "well-regulated militia" remains as they intended, America’s armed citizenry. When the National Guard is nationalized, it is under the control of the federal government and no longer a militia.

The number of handguns in the U.S. has reached almost 100 million, waiting periods, purchase permits and prohibitions on carrying firearms for protection have been dismantled in state after state, gun ownership has soared and violent crime has plummeted. And studies have shown that guns are used for self-defense three to five times more often than they’re used for criminal purposes.

Finally, Mr. Miller would do well to read the state Constitution. Gun control isn’t about guns, it’s about control.